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Tiger Stadium's date with the wrecking ball will be delayed due to engineering and other studies, Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick said Monday. The cost to partially raze the historic ballpark is between $2 million to $5 million. The city plans to recoup part of the cost by selling portions of the stadium as memoribilla. As reported:

Over the summer, the city Economic Development Corp. approved hiring companies to evaluate how to dismantle the stadium and determine what steps should be taken to address environmentally sensitive substances, such as asbestos and lead-based paint, that had been used to paint older sections of the ballpark.

"There's a difference in having a historic dismantling versus demolition," Kilpatrick said. "It's a little more complicated."

The request for proposals from developers should be issued in a few months, he said.

After the stadium is partially razed, a mixed-use development of 150 condos atop 40-50 retail shops on the 8.5-acre site will sit in its place.

Plans are to "to maintain the original stadium entrance as a gateway and leave the baseball diamond as a park for Little League games and festivals."